Boston 2015: The 'Village' People

Regardless of who you are, or how fast, when you run the Boston Marathon your "road to Hopkinton" includes a rest stop at the Athletes Village – a sprawling, fenced compound that's a 10-minute walk from the starting line, where runners wait to be called to their corrals.

This means waiting in line for a porta-potty (there are never enough), waiting for water or a banana, waiting at the information booth, or just sitting and... waiting. (If you're lucky, especially on a day like today, you find a spot under one of two enormous tents.) This year we decided to take advantage of all this downtime to get to know some of the athletes, chosen at random.

And here they are.

David Parkinson, 29, New York City

How many Bostons have you run? "This is my sixth."

What's your goal today? "Run a sub-3:00. That's my 'A' goal. Goal 'B' is to have a good time."

Metaphorically. "Ha! Yes. Metaphorically."

How do you feel about this [cold, windy, wet] weather? "I'm from Seattle originally. So none of this bothers me."

How do you know each other? Kristin: "Samantha is my brother's girlfriend."

How many beers did you have last night? Sam: "Zero pints!"

"Zero pints? Are you trying to trick me? Did you have a 'yard' of beer?" Sam: "No! I had zero beer. No beer."

Before this morning, when was the last time you rode in a school bus?* Kristin: "It was at a wedding in Salt Lake City. We took a school bus from the reception. There was a kid who puked out a window."

* At Boston, a point-to-point race, runners are transported from Boston Common to Hopkinton via a fleet of school buses.

Carlos Graham, 48, Atlanta

How many Bostons have you run? "This is my second. My first was in 2013, the year of the bombings."

Did you finish the race that day? "I did."

What's your goal today? "My PR is 3:16 [set in February 2015], but today I'll be happy with anything around 3:20."

Any thoughts on the weather? "It's a little windy. But I'll do the best I can."

I like your outfit. Who are you wearing today? Glad? Hefty? "This is a Glad Tall Kitchen bag, with lemony scent. It has a drawstring, which I like. [She shows me the drawstring.] I am walking the Hopkinton runway in a garbage bag."

Tolun Tuglu, 45, New York City

How many Bostons have you run? "This is my first."

What's your goal today? "I'd like to run a sub-3:00."

You look pretty comfortable. How long have you been here in the tent? "About an hour and 40 minutes."

Are you cold? "No. I'm good."

That hat is outstanding. "The hat! Yes. It's my wife's. It's a discard."